Unique New Trail Will Take Cyclists From Factories To Forests

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A major road reconstruction project is bringing a new trail with it, just north of Des Moines city limits in unincorporated Polk County. But trail planners already have their eyes on even bigger connections beyond this current expansion.

The Project

Polk County is in the midst of rebuilding nearly the entire stretch of Broadway Ave. from NW 2^nd Ave. to Hubbell Ave. A new trail is included from NW 2^nd to Fourmile Creek, stretching more than five miles long. The trail, which is completely separate from the road, is currently being built on the north side of Broadway.

Trail Route

From the west, the trail begins at NW 2^nd , just across the road from the Firestone plant. As cyclists head east, they will go by a long line of industrial and auto-oriented businesses. Cyclists will need to really pay attention as they ride across many driveways leading to the businesses.

The trail will take bikers across NE 14^th St. (Hwy. 69), a fast and busy thoroughfare. Polk County Conservation Department parks planner Adam Fendrick hopes to eventually keep cyclists separated from vehicles.

“We have been looking at possibilities for overpasses and underpasses and we’ve been engaged with some of the landowners on how we do that,” Fendrick said.

East of NE 14^th , the trail will continue through an industrial area and pass beneath Interstate 235 just south of the East Mixmaster. Immediately beyond the freeway, cyclists will have the option to connect to the Chichaqua Valley Trail and its route through small towns, farm fields and forests northeast of the metro. Cyclists opting to continue east on the Broadway trail will cruise through the Norwoodville area before the route ends at the Gay Lea Wilson Trail along Fourmile Creek.

Fendrick said this project is unique for the conservation department.

“This trail will have a much different character than our typical rail trails that are former railroads we converted where you go a mile with uninterrupted intersections,” he said. “This will be the most urban trail in our system.”

He expects this trail to serve a different purpose as well. Instead of being purely recreational, Fendrick thinks some cyclists will ride the trail to work or run errands.

Dreaming Bigger

As excited as Fendrick is to add this new route to Polk County’s trail roster, he’s already thinking about using it as a jumping off point for other new expansions.

“As the trail stops at 2^nd Ave. by the Firestone plant, it is only a short mile-and-a-half to get to the Neal Smith Trail,” Fendrick said. “We have been working on that, doing some preliminary design engineering, planning to see if in the future we could connect this trail all the way to the Neal Smith Trail.”

Fendrick said this plan is several steps away from becoming reality. Some of the trail could go through private property, so land would need to be acquired. The trail also needs funding, but Fendrick said it could be a matter of waiting for the right grant to come along.

Another opportunity for further expansion is near the Broadway trail’s halfway point, east of NE 14^th. That’s where the county owns an abandoned railroad that runs straight north. Fendrick sees opportunity to convert it into a trail.

“It’s a more direct route than the existing Gay Lea Wilson Trial to get to Ankeny,” he said.

An underpass beneath Interstate 80/35 is already built for the rail line, taking care of the challenge of getting to the other side of the highway. But that’s also where the county’s ownership of the railroad stops, so more land would need to be acquired to the north.

“It’s always been kind of an opportunity that stands out there,” Fendrick said.

Looking Ahead

There is still plenty of work to do before cyclists can ride the full five-mile stretch of the Broadway trail. This spring, construction crews are focusing their work immediately east of NE 14^th . Later this year, they will move farther east. The majority of construction will be finished by the end of 2026.

An underpass beneath a set of side-by-side railroad tracks between NE 14^th and NE Delaware Ave. should be built by the end of 2028, according to Polk County engineer Aaron Putnam.

Trail Tidbits

The trail will pass by three interesting (to me) places that I needed to mention:

• The site of where Northridge Mall would have gone. Did you know that in the ‘80s, there was a plan to build a mall at NE 14^th and I-80/35? Obviously it never happened.

• The Minx Showpalace. You now have a way to safely ride your bike to the strip club.

• Former ice cream shop. The Norwoodville Dairy Treet used to be on the corner of NE 29^th and Broadway. We’ve gotta get that thing back up and running!

Bike Expo Recap

Wow. Saturday was a great day at the Iowa Bicycle Coalition’s Iowa Bike Expo. I barely stopped talking the entire six hours. It meant so much that so many subscribers stopped to tell me they appreciate what I’m doing. It really put wind in my sails. And it was so fun to tell even more people about DSM Bike Notes for the first time. I left the events center not only with a foot cramp from standing all day, but also a bit of a lump in my throat. See ya next week.